Bear with me… :)

This blog is a work in progress.

I would just like to note that since I only started working on this blog a few days ago, it is still very much a work in progress. You may see Latin placeholder text, broken links, notes that I have left myself, or general weirdness as you explore the content contained here. Please bear with me. There are only so many hours in the day that I can work on everything.

It should also be noted that the articles and entries on this blog are subject to change. I will continually edit them for grammar, style, flow, and general usefulness. Don’t be shocked if you read something one day, and come back another to find that it is slightly different.

With all of that being said, if you are an activist, parent, gay teen, or just an “Average Joe” reader with ideas on how I could make this blog better, please let me know! I would love for this blog to be as useful as possible for the gay youth community that it targets.

Thanks for understanding, thanks for reading, and look forward to more posts to come soon.

Tim Savage

Coming to Terms with Sexual Preference

“A warm dawn awaits after every cold night.”

By Tim Savage

We’ve all been there. It’s the difficult, transitional point in your life when you begin to realize that you’re a little different from those around you. You may have thoughts and urges that contradict the values and beliefs you were taught as a child. Everything you think and feel seems so radically different from what it “should be.”

But are you gay? What is “gay,” anyway? You’ve tried to force yourself to be interested in girls, and you’re just not feeling it. You’ve tried to go out for sports or connect with male friends your age, and it simply isn’t working. And while all the boys you grew up with are talking about who they’re taking to the school dance, what girls they think are pretty, and who they’re going to ask out, you instead are fantasizing about the hot, young male celeb you saw on T.V. last night…. or even that masculine, charismatic athlete you sit next to in history class. It feels so wrong, but you just can’t control it.

What you are feeling is not wrong. It’s part of growing up, and everyone grows up differently. You are coming of age, and have reached an important milestone of youth — sexual self-identification. Not everyone is gay, obviously… in fact, most people are not. You probably feel like life would be much easier if you could go out, find a girlfriend, and connect on a heterosexual level with those around you. The truth, however, is that you are going to be miserable if you try to live a lifestyle that completely repels you. You are who you are, so be true to yourself. Going forward in life as a gay teenager isn’t the easiest lifestyle choice out there, but it’s also probably not the absolute social suicide you may think it’s going to be.

“You’re here. You’re queer. Get used to it!”

Welcome to “Growing Up Gay”

By Tim Savage

Being young is hard. Being gay is harder. You’re looking at this blog for a reason. More than likely, you’re trying to understand your place in the world and find a peaceful balance between the expectations of friends and family, and the crazy urges and emotions that occupy your mind and body. You may feel like nobody understands what you’re going through. When everyone around you seems so different from yourself, it’s easy to feel alone and helpless.

But you are not alone. You are not helpless.